Technical Profile: WBLX-FM

FM Technical Profile: WBLX

Station Name:: The Big Station, 93 BLX
Frequency:: 92.9
Format:: Hip-Hop
Transmitter Location:: [map] [street view] At the end of Ard Road, just south of I-10 exit 53. Co-located with WEAR-DT, WHBR-DT and WFGX-DT; FM stations WKSJ, WCOA and WDLT.
Power (ERP):: 98 kW (100 kW with beam tilt)
Antenna:: Omnidirectional
Antenna HAAT:: 1555 feet.
Other Information:: 60 dBu protected contour map, from the FCC.; (inactive); :
PS-Call 261-652-2000 to Advertise 93BLX
PS-(song/artist) 93BLX
Time-[?]
Text-Call 261-652-2000 to Advertise 93BLX
Text-(song/artist) 93BLX
PTY-Rhythm and Blues
PI-WBLX-FM
AUX: 4.7 kW @ 325 feet HAAT. 60 dBu protected contour map, from the FCC.
More Information:: [FCC]; [FCCdata]; [Radio-Locator]; [Wikipedia]
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[Picture] Screenshot of RDS text display from an Insignia HD portable radio, showing PI (call letters) and Radio Text fields.
[Picture] Image of a Mazda radio's display with RDS text, showing the PS (station name), Radio Text and PTY (format) fields.; [Audio] Former station host "Inetta The Mood Setta" quits live on air, but still manages to keep things tight. This clip has circulated widely amongst radio professionals over the years. (1'43 " / 1.58 MB)
[Studio] Street View imagery of the Cumulus Mobile studios.
Owner:: Cumulus Broadcasting LLC
History:: Began in 1973 as FM counterpart to gospel station WMOO 1550 AM. It's unclear if the FM took the WMOO calls or started off as WBLX. Originally broadcast from atop the First National Bank building, using the iconic red and white pole that was removed in January 2011. With an Hip-Hop format, has been one of the market's leading stations with the same calls and format for decades. At one point it acquired competitor WDLT FM, a black adult contemporary station, allowing WBLX to skew it's programming towards a younger audience. Since the mid-80's has been a factor in both Pensacola and Mobile, when they moved with several other Mobile FMs to the then-new WPMI-TV tower in Baldwin County. That 1800 foot tower that held WPMI-TV, WHBR-TV, WJLQ-FM, WKSJ-FM and WYOK-FM fell during Ivan in 2004. The stations have since relocated to alternate tower facilities, with WBLX and others picking a newer multi-pronged tower that went up in the same general area after the hurricane. WBLX got back on the air quicker than just about anyone else and maintained its high ratings as a result. WBLX was an early adopter of HD broadcasting but stopped it at some point in the spring of 2015. The station had a long time and well known slogan, "The Beat of the Bay" but it appears that slogan has fallen out of favor in the 2010s for "The Big Station" or simply, "93 BLX".